What If?

 

Introduction:
In the 1950's, my family began to heed the counsel to do all we could to learn to become self-sufficient. Over the last 40+ years, none of the predicted major wars, widespread devastating earthquakes, or global financial chaos we prepared for ever materialized. Is there really any reason, then, for me to write this book to encourage you to prepare for possible disasters? Yes, yes, yes and yes!, because disasters of all kinds are on the increase.

Consider the following facts:
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the number of earthquakes registering 6.0 and higher remained fairly constant up until 1950, averaging 2-4 per decade. The numbers then began increasing significantly (See chart below.) Surprisingly, the increase in volcanic eruptions follows a very similar pattern. Tornado totals for 1916 through 1998 follow the same pattern, with a dramatic increase during the 1990s.

Decade Earthquakes Volcanoes 1920s 3 3 1930s 2 3 1940s 4 2 1950s 9 2 1960s 13 4 1970s 51 6 1980s 86 8 1990s 385 37

We are seeing record-breaking storms, flooding, drought, hot and cold temperatures, as all of our weather becomes more severe. Many times each year, rescue efforts are organized to help in areas of widespread disaster.

When will it end? According to Revelation and other books of scripture, as we get closer to the Savior's coming, extreme weather conditions will become the norm, rather than the exception, making the predicted famines inevitable.

Wars and rumors of war have also steadily increased. According to the United Nations reports, violence in 1998 has almost doubled that in 1997.

Disease is increasing, despite modern medical advances. The plague of AIDS has become the leading cause of death for the 25-44 year old male in the U.S. According to Roger K. Young, author of "...And There Shall Be Signs...", "Pfesteria, Hauntavirus, Ebola, Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Super Tuberculosis, Plague, Lyme disease, Gulf War Syndrome....are just a few of the diseases that are running rampant throughout the world. Most have become incurable in that they are, or have become, immune to treatment by antibiotics."

Even though catastrophic events and diseases are increasing, many people live in areas of the country where they are relatively unaffected. Does that mean those people need not prepare for disasters?

A disaster doesn't have to be MAJOR to produce major consequences capable of upsetting normal everyday routines, or even to produce a scene much like the Nightmare Dream mentioned in the previous chapter. There are many disasters that can and do occur in families, neighborhoods, or communities that can be minimized or averted, IF we are prepared.

After all, we've been strongly urged since 1937 (Conference Report, April 1937, p. 26.) to store a year's supply of food and other necessities in our homes, against any one or a combination of the several possible emergencies-unemployment, sickness, strikes, famine, civil disorder, war, and so on. To be unprepared despite the repeated warnings would certainly increase the nightmare quality of the experience.

In the following "What If" scenarios, many of which have actually occurred in my own family or to close friends, try to picture yourself and your family in these same situations. What would you do IF these happened to you?

WHAT IF...you turn the television on to the weather channel and hear that a category 4 hurricane is headed your way. After days of heavy rain, the lake near you is expected to crest within the next several days. What will you do? Consider the following scenarios:

1. It is the end of the month. You are really short of cash. Your 4 credit cards are maxed out and you only have 1/4 of a tank of gas.
   To get to safety, you need to travel hundreds of miles to beat the storm and look for a free shelter;
2. You have only one car and your husband needs it to work up to the last possible minute. You need to go to the bank and are not sure how long it will stay open, since the employees also need to get out of town.
   You decide to take the children and walk to the store to buy food, water and diapers, but as you get close, you see the lines are blocks long. The temperature is in the 90s, and the children are miserable. When you all finally get inside, all the water is gone. The only diapers available are "newborn" size;
3. The roads out of town are backed up for miles and your car's engine is coughing and sputtering. You might be nearly out of gas, but it's more likely that the car really DID need the tune-up you've been putting off for months.

OR...What IF

 

1. It is the end of the month, but you aren't at all worried, because you have enough cash on hand for emergencies. You always pay off your credit card bills each month, so if you run short, you can always "charge it!" You never let your gas tank get less than half full.

2. You don't need to fight the crowds at the grocery store because you have on hand;

    

   1. A 72-hour kit for each family member, and an emergency kit in each car;

   2. A year's supply of the necessary food and personal items your family will need;

   3. Because you as a family have a preparedness plan, and a prearranged location where you can go to wait out the storm, no one panics;

       

3. You have your automobile in peak condition, because you faithfully follow your scheduled maintenance program.

    

WHAT IF...the wind suddenly increases and the balmy summer day turns ugly, as winds uproot power poles and massive 100-year old trees as if they were match sticks. Suddenly, you are without power, even though you are miles away from the worst damage. It is estimated that it will take days for repairs to be made.

WHAT IF...your husband suddenly loses his job? Jobs are scarce, and predictions are that it will take at least 6 months to find something suitable. You could go to work, but your salary wouldn't begin to cover all the bills.

WHAT IF...you are in a drought that has lasted through the 6 hottest months of the year. You have been careful to water only during your few allotted hours each week. Friends in other parts of the state have experienced low water pressure because the drying clay soils have shifted, causing water pipes to burst. Without warning, you find that you have no water at all.

When you turn on the television, you find that the town's water main has broken, and that you should expect to be without water for at least 2 days, and that all water will have to be boiled or purified for several days thereafter.

WHAT IF...an ice storm blows through in the night and you wake up to find you are without power. The weather is well below freezing, and the skies are cloudy and threatening. The house is dark and cold, even during the daytime. Ice is so thick that everyone is advised to stay at home for at least 4 days until the weather clears.

WHAT IF...a winter snow storm closes the main roads to your town. Within a few hours, your grocery store tells you it could be as long as a week before they can again get fresh produce and supplies to stock their empty shelves.

WHAT IF...you head to the grocery store for your week's worth of food and other essentials, and then discover you've made a major boo-boo in your checkbook and you are already $500 overdrawn. You have cut up all your credit cards in an effort to get them paid off, so you really have no where to turn.

WHAT IF...you are hurt on the job and won't receive a regular paycheck again for several months?

WHAT IF...you have an accident that totals your car, and even with the insurance money, you must come up with several thousand dollars to find a suitable replacement.

WHAT IF...you work for a company that manufactures winter clothing and camping gear. Because of the unseasonably warm weather this year, sales are at an all-time low. You are advised that in order to survive without layoffs, the company must cut salaries by 10% for all employees, at least until the next season, which is 6 months away.

WHAT IF...a family member dies, and you must take unpaid time off work and buy airline tickets you really can't afford, in order to travel to the funeral...or, what if it's the wage earner in your family who dies? Are you prepared to live without that income? For how long?

I don't know very many people who haven't yet experienced at least some of the above situations. Sadly enough, most of those people were unprepared for the emergencies they faced. Most, however, experienced only a loss of employment. Only those who had been obedient to the counsel to store food were able to survive their time of crisis without fear.

Perhaps for most of us there is still time to prepare, IF we procrastinate no further. Who can say what "emergency" lies just around the next corner???

Why live from day to day...or from paycheck to paycheck? Why not be prepared by getting out of debt, storing a year's supply of basics, buying in bulk and on sale, living from a well-stocked pantry rather than running to the store several times a week? You too can learn to be more self-sufficient, to spend less than you earn, and to choose, store and use the foods necessary for good health.

Peace-or Panic?
It has been my experience that many people will "panic" when starting a program of this type, and assume they need to get prepared all at once.

I urge you to be calm. Picture a fire truck pulling up to a fire. Do firemen RACE off the fire truck and frantically run around to get the fire put out? No, they are well-trained to go about in an organized, methodical way to accomplish their assigned tasks. Do WE need to RACE around in preparing for disasters? No, that usually produces an overwhelmed feeling that leads to panic and depression. We need to calmly educate ourselves, come up with a workable plan, and then work that plan. Do firemen work alone? No, they work as a team. Put together your own team so you can share the responsibilities and help each other become as prepared as possible.

How Will YOU Prepare?
There are many ways to prepare for emergencies, some more expensive than others. You can spend many thousands of dollars on prepackaged units of food and other supplies that are designed to be stored away in case of a disaster. Or, you can store the "basics" and learn to use wholesome grains, legumes and seeds on a daily basis. Then, as you save money on the meals you make with your "basics," you can buy the "extras" to round out your storage and provide a wider variety of meals. You can avoid going into debt to get prepared by buying only those things that are essential to keep you alive and in good health, and that will provide a small measure of comfort.

Preparedness is a way of life, not something you do once and forget about it for the next 30 years. A pantry full of nutritious food is better than money in the bank. Exactly what you store and how often you use it is an individual matter, but we each have a responsibility to provide for our families. Stored food "may well be as essential to our temporal salvation today as boarding the ark was to the people in the days of Noah." Ezra Taft Benson

I suggest you begin with the concepts, basic foods and methods outlined in the pages of this book.

StoreFood.com
Lee Erickson
2543 E. Cliff Swallow
Sandy, UT 84093
(801) 641-8393